Comics From Southeast Asia: A Cross-Cultural Bridge?

Comics are not only
for entertainment but they promote intercultural exchange as well. In this
panel, we hear from award-winning comic artists from the Philippines (Peejay
Catacutan, Carlo Vergara), Vietnam (Nguyễn Thành Phong) and Indonesia (Aji
Prasetyo) as they talk about the cross-cultural potential of comics to bridge
the various countries in ASEAN, and how to make the comics more accessible in
the region.

COMICS AND TRANSLATION: IT’S NOT JUST IN THE BUBBLE

TranslateSingapore takes a close look at the translation of comics in all its colourful forms – from graphic novels and Japanese manga to European bande dessinée and comics from Southeast Asia. Join award-winning comic artists, translators and publishers from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Europe and the US as we explore how this popular medium is used to engage with cross-cultural representations and understanding.

Lim Cheng Tju, an educator who writes about history and popular culture, is the advisor to the “Comics and Translation” programmes. The programmes will be in English.

Comics and Translation Forum Pass

The Forum Pass offers access to all panel discussions; discount to comics translation workshops and film screening. Please present your Pass to gain entry at the events.

For more information about TranslateSingapore 2017 programmes and to get tickets, please clickhere.

TranslateSingapore is back for the third year as we celebrate “SG Translation Month”! Click here to find out more about the highlights this year.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

AJI PRASETYO (Indonesia)

Aji
Prasetyo is a writer, author, comic artist, musician, and independent human
rights activist. He began creating comics for a personal blog in 2007. His
first book, Hidup Itu Indah (Life Is Beautiful), was published in
2010. Besides comics that are filled with social criticism and political
commentary, Aji has also created historical fiction comics, including Harimau dari Madiun (Tigers of Madiun), which is set during the Javanese war of 1825-1830. It won the
Third Silver Award in the Kompetisi Komik Indonesia 2013, and was subsequently
published in 2015. In 2016, it won the Kosasih Award for Best Short Comic. His
work is also displayed in the Asia Comic Cultural Museum in Penang, Malaysia.

CARLO VERGARA (The Philippines)

Carlo Vergara is
the creator of the Filipino LGBT superhero Zsazsa Zaturnnah, who debuted in her
own graphic novel in 2002. The Zaturnnah story was adapted into a feature film
and a stage musical in 2006, and Vergara is currently working on the sequel.
His work on Zaturnnah has earned him two Philippine National Book Awards. A
graphic designer and copywriter by profession, he has ventured into
playwriting. His most successful one-act play to date is 2013's Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady (How I Became Leading Lady). A story
about the maid of a superhero team, the play was adapted into a comic book that
same year, and subsequently expanded into a full-length musical in 2015. A
major motion picture is under development.

PEEJAY CATACUTAN (The Philippines)

Peejay
Catacutan is a Manila-based illustrator, comic book creator, and the Art
Director for OSSM Comics, an independent comic book company based in
California, US. His first series, which was written by Omar Spahi of OSSM Comics,
called XenoGlyphs was published in
2011 and since then, he has worked on several titles under the publishing
company. In 2016, under Chopsoy Comics, he published his first local comic book
entitled Buster, which sparked
interest both locally and abroad. It also received good reviews at the New York
Comic Convention in 2016. Jess Española, the Emmy Award-winning animator and
assistant director of The Simpsons
called it: “IMPRESSIVE.” He is currently working on the next volume of Buster and a possible cartoon series
based on one of OSSM Comic’s titles, Separators.

NGUYỄN
THÀNH PHONG (Vietnam)

Nguyễn Thành Phong is a co-founder of Phong
Duong comics. He works as a graphic novelist, illustrator and art/creative
director for various publishers and clients in Vietnam, France, Italy and the
US. Nguyễn Thành
Phong started his career in 2004. Since then, he has been awarded numerous
national and international prizes, including the Special Jury Prize for the
Best Artworks at the Asian Youth Animation & Comics Contest 2011; and the
Silver Award in the 9th International Manga Award (2016). His recent works
include Sát thủ đầu mưng mủ (roughly translated as The
Killer with A Festering Head, a picture book illustrating Vietnamese
contemporary idioms); Think before
honking (series of cartoons about traffic problems), Hà
Nội – My City,
and Holy Dragon Imperator.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

FAIRUL NIZAM “ROY” ABLAH (Malaysia)

Fairul
Nizam Ablah, or known as Roy Ablah, is a freelance writer from Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. He has been writing scripts for animation, telemovies and drama series
since 2005 for Malaysian TV. He worked with the highly-acclaimed Gonzo Studio
Japan for an animation called 7 Satria,
in collaboration with Funcel Studio. Apart from writing, he is also a comic
publisher under the label of Maple Comics with his partner-in-crime, Amir
Hafizi. It has 19 titles so far (and counting). His latest venture is Anomalous
Films in which he is a partner-producer, and he has just completed a 27-episode
drama series Biniku Ninja that was
filmed in Europe. He admires the works of Charlie Kaufman, Quentin Tarantino,
Park Chan-wook, Brian Azzarello, Paul Pope and Warren Ellis, to name a few.